Scarlett
by mrs tennant o3o
Summary: AU where Sherlock has a daughter who turns up at his door at the age of fifteen. How will Sherlock react? Will he accept her into his home? Set after A Scandal in Belgravia and before TRF. Also, John and Sherlock are already in a relationship (sorry I'm really bad at summaries).
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! So I really wanted to do a multi-chapter Sherlock fic and I finally got an idea! Hope you all enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sherlock or any of its characters.**

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As Scarlett walked down Bakers Street coming closer and closer to the flat, she began to reflect on the things that have happened in the past few days. Holding her mother's frail thin hand as it went limp in hers. Hearing her last words being muttered.

"Take care of yourself, darling... I'm sure your father will too." And with that she was gone. Not a single tear was shed that day, she seemed to have got that from her father and she partly hated herself for it.

Her own mother. Dead. And she didn't even cry. Was there something wrong with her? Her father must be seriously emotionally detached as well which comforted her a bit, knowing that she had someone like her. However this factor also worried her, what if he doesn't accept her? What would she do then? She really didn't like the idea of a foster home but that would be the only option.

When she got there, she stopped and looked at the building in front of her. _Wow... This looks like an expensive building. Should I really be doing this? It would only cost more... No. I've got to. It said I had to in my own mother's will for god's sake. Come on Scarlett, have a bit of courage. _She thought to herself. Finally, she took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. A woman answered the door and smiled sweetly at her.

"Hello, dear, do you need something?" Scarlett smiled politely back.

"Hello, I came to see Sherlock. Is he in?" Mrs Hudson gestured for her to come in so she obliged.

"He's just upstairs, love, you go on up." She replied. Scarlett smiled and thanked her, before walking upstairs and knocking on the door to Sherlock's apartment. A man with sandy hair answered the door and he smiled at her.

"Hi, are you a client?"

"Not exactly, is Sherlock in?" John let her in.

"He's just through there in the kitchen." Scarlett smiled and walked in to see Sherlock sat at the table, looking through a microscope. He looked up when he heard her and studied her a bit.

She had a very petite figure with a heart shaped face with dark brown hair framing it, cascading down in soft waves. Her eyes were a piercing icy blue and she had soft pale skin that was unusually clear considering she was a teenager and her pink rosy lips were small but dainty. She was wearing a black trench coat with skinny dark blue jeans that clung to her tiny legs. Sherlock smiled a bit.

"Hello, Scarlett." However his face fell slightly. "I'm sorry for you're loss. When was it?" Scarlett smiled sadly back at him.

"Yesterday. There wasn't much time to lose really, I need a place to stay. I mean, that's if its okay with you." Sherlock smiled and nodded, Scarlett beamed at him and hugged him, but remembering what he was like she quickly pulled away. "Well... I'll just call my driver to bring my stuff over then."

Scarlett left and Sherlock went back to his microscope, before looking back up to John, who saw it all and looked extremely confused. Sherlock rolled his eyes and sat up.

"Okay, you've got questions."

"Yeah, who is she?"

"My daughter." John froze.

"Your WHAT?!"

"His daughter." Came a voice from behind John. Scarlett was leaning on the doorway with her arms folded. "My father met a woman in university, you could almost say he felt some sort of sentiment for her. After an... Experiment one night, I was born nine months and two days later and my mother raised me alone because the relationship didn't really work out. It was all organised, there were no problems with it for either parent however there was the agreement that if my mother died or could no longer look after me, I would be in Sherlock's care. Hence why I'm here." She said it so nonchalantly you wouldn't believe she was talking about her own mothers death. John was quiet for a few minutes, trying to think of what to say.

"Well... I'm sorry for your loss. There's a room upstairs if you want to use it." Scarlett smiled sweetly at John.

"Thank-you, what was your name again?"

"John."

"Ah, John. So how long have you and Sherlock been in a relationship for?" The two men looked stunned which made Scarlett giggle a bit. "Oh come on, its obvious."

"She certainly takes after you, Sherlock." John muttered. Sherlock laughed a bit, half out of humour at what John said and half out of disbelief.

"Brilliant..." He murmured in amazement. Scarlett smiled at this, she was glad to have earned her father's approval.

"Right well I'm shattered so I'll just have a nap, see you later." And with that she went to bed. Sherlock smiled at her but as soon as she left he put his head in his hands.

"John..." John walked over to his side and put his hand on Sherlock's back to comfort him.

"What's wrong, love?" He asked, concern lacing his soothing voice.

"I can't do this." He whispered, bewildered. John rubbed his back soothingly and muttered words of comfort to him. Neither of the men knew that Scarlett had heard everything and had slipped out of the front door to run away down Bakers Street.

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Moriarty was sat on his leather sofa in a huge modern appartment, trying to think of a good way to make Sherlock's life hell. He would kidnap John but since he's already done that, it would be extremely dull. His thoughts were interruped by his phone ringing in his pocket so he answered it in the hope of having something fun to do.

"Yes, what is it?" He answered, sounding bored. However, the reply on the other end woke him up a bit. "WHAT?! Now you listen here, if you are lying then I will mount your head upon my wall." The reply he got made him laugh manically. "Oh yes, I'm fine. I'm brilliant. I'll do some research on miss Holmes and then we can decide what to do with her. Oh this is going to be rather fun, isn't it?"

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**And that's chapter one! I hope you enjoyed it, the next chapter will be out asap and it will hopefully cleat up any questions you might have about the situation. Anyway, please R+R! It would mean so much to me if you did.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! Thankyou for your lovely reviews, they made my day! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. There is a bit of violence but nothing too graphic.**

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As she was running, Scarlett felt someone grab her arm and cover her mouth, pulling her into a car. Her head was then hit with what felt like a gun and the next thing she knew was that she was sat in a dark room with a flickering light bulb above her.

She tried ignoring the dull pain on the back of her head and looked down to the floor, it was wooden and slightly dusty, clearly the place was usually unoccupied. She was tied to a chair and unable to speak because of a piece of cloth wrapped around her head and shoved in her mouth. She decided to keep calm and wait until her kidnapper approached her.

"You don't look very scared, miss Holmes. You take after your father." Said a voice from the shadows with an Irish accent. A dark silhouette stepped out from the darkness, but not close enough that she could see his face. "I wouldn't bother asking who I am, your father will probably tell you when he finds you." He laughed darkly at her confused expression.

"Oh, don't worry, he'll find you, I just want some fun first. I want to show Mr Holmes what I'm capable of. Its only a game, don't worry dear." His amused voice stopped when the light turned off and Scarlett could tell he was smiling she also heard two pairs of footsteps approaching her. "Well then, let's begin."

Meanwhile, back at the flat, Sherlock became suspicious of how quiet Scarlett was being. Her driver had dropped off her things and Sherlock decided to wait until she was awake to tell her. He got up from his place at the kitchen table and John looked from his laptop as he was sat in his usual spot.

"I'm just going to check on her," muttered Sherlock, before dashing up the stairs. John barely had time to begin typing again before he heard Sherlock yelling. "JOHN! GET UP HERE, NOW!" John closed his laptop and jogged up the stairs.

When he got to Scarlett's room, he saw an untouched bed with a thin layer of dust on as it hadn't been used since him and Sherlock started sharing Sherlock's room.

"Have you any idea of where she might be?" asked John, before he got a text from a certain consulting criminal. "Sherlock. Its him." Sherlock turned paler than John thought possible, he grabbed John's phone and read the text.

*Catch us if you can.- JM x" Sherlock threw it back to John and dashed downstairs out to the street, not bothering to put his coat on with John following close behind. Sherlock stopped at the end of the street and bent down, pulling his small magnifying glass out of his pocket and inspecting the ground closely.

"Blood. Probably hers. But where would he take her?" just then his phone buzzed and he promptly pulled it out.

*I'll give you a clue, just to be nice. It is your darling daughter's first home. And I mean the VERY first home. If you get my drift. -JM x* Sherlock put the phone away.

"She's in the place she was conceived, I think its abandoned now. Its a couple of miles away, we'll get a cab." They quickly got into the cab that Sherlock hailed and shouted the address in a hurry and flung some money at the driver muttering "keep the change" when they got out. Sherlock had already texted Lestrade so the police where on their way, they could already hear sirens. With no time to lose, he broke the door down and ran up a flight of stairs, breaking down a door which supposedly used to be to his old flat.

The flat was empty and pitch black, when he turned the light on he saw the most horrific sight possible. His daughter was tied up on a chair, bleeding from her forehead and nose and covered in bruises. He ran up to her and took the cloth away from her mouth, allowing her to speak.

"The man... He got away... And his workers... He told me to tell you something. He said 'catch you later'" She croaked out. When Sherlock untied her, she fell into his arms and he sat on the floor, cradling her close to him. However, she still didn't cry. She tried to pull away.

"Sherlock, I'm fine. Really, I am." She said, her voice a bit stronger this time. By now, the police were searching the flat and John was talking to Lestrade, explaining the situation. Sherlock rolled his eyes and pulled away slightly so she was looking at him.

"Scarlett, you've been beaten to a pulp and tied up, of course you aren't fine." He replied.

"Why do you care anyway? You didn't want me. You said to John that you couldn't do this, so why do you care?" Sherlock's heart smashed into a million pieces. He may have only just met her but this girl was his daughter and he would do anything for her. He already decided that the first time he held her.

"I was only saying that because I was stressed, it was unexpected, that's all. I do want you, I care about you, you're my daughter. Tell you what though, I'm still puzzled about the fact that you aren't crying or showing any negative emotion." He added, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"I'm fine, I don't need to. I'm fine." However this sounded forced, tears were already starting to pool in her eyes and threatening to fall but she promised herself that she wouldn't do this.

"Don't lie to me, its obvious you do. Listen, I understand that you hate showing weakness and you tend to be emotionally detatched. I understand that just as much as you, probably even more. But your mother died yesterday, you thought you were being rejected by me, you've been kidnapped and beaten and on top of all that, you're a teenager, you're going to be hormonal anyway. So its okay to cry. Really, it is." Scarlett sat frozen, staring at Sherlock in shock when a single tear rolled down her cheek. Followed by another, and another. Sherlock pulled her close to him again and rocked her back and forth lightly as she quietly sobbed into his chest.

"Dad..." She choked out, gripping onto him tighter, letting everything out which she hadn't done for a long time. She looked so small in his arms, it pained Sherlock to see her in such a state. He would get Moriarty for this if its the last thing he does.

"Shh, its okay, I'm here, Scarlett. I'll always be here." When she had finally stopped crying, she sat there in his arms a bit longer before speaking.

"Sorry, I must be annoying you quite a bit with my pathetic tears." Sherlock only rolled his eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous, you needed that. Anyway, John called a cab to take us to the hospital just to get you checked out. Can you walk?" She nodded and Sherlock stood up, holding her arm to support her as she did the same but her knees gave way and she collapsed back down. Sherlock caught her quickly and carried her bridal style to the cab, she was gripping onto him like a vice however when they got outside, imagining her kidnapper to appear again at any moment so he didn't let go of her even when they were in the cab.

When they got there, a nurse checked Scarlett over and stitched up the gash on her forehead. Luckily, there were no serious injuries so she was free to go immediately. Back at the 221B, John waited for the two to arrive as he sat in his chair, when he heard them return. Sherlock carried Scarlett up to bed so she could sleep for a bit and then went back downstairs, collapsing onto the sofa and putting his head in his hands. John got up and sat next to him, putting an arm around his lover.

"Its alright, Sherlock, she's safe now." He murmured to Sherlock soothingly.

"Its my fault, John. If it wasn't for me, she wouldn't have been kidnapped." John squeezed him a bit.

"None of this was your fault, how were you to know what would happen?" Sherlock sat up to face him and reply in a clever way but John put his finger to Sherlock's mouth. "Listen, the point is, she's fine. She isn't dead, and she isn't seriously injured. On the brighter side, you have a daughter now and I just know you'll be a great dad. Okay?" Sherlock nodded and pressed his lips to John's in a warm kiss of gratitude for his kind words.

"John, you'll help me, right? Help me raise her, that is." John nodded.

"Of course, but could you explain the story in more detail?" Sherlock sighed and began talking.

"It was in university, her name was Claudia Jones, I sat next to her and she had eyes and lips just like Scarlett but with blonde hair, she would talk to me every now and then and she fascinated me. Just like you, although you were more fascinating of course. She loved my deductions, she'd beg me to teach her. One day I finally gave in and taught her, her first go was hilarious, but it was... Endearing watching her. She would try so hard. That wasn't all though, she was never treating me like a freak, like everyone else did and I suppose that's what made me welcome her in. One night, I deduced that she was in love with me because of her pupils being dilated so she came and sat next to me, saying the same about me. That was when we kissed for the first time. We moved in together after uni and Scarlett was conceived, we were happy to begin with but about a month after she was born, the relationship just didn't work. There wasn't any time, I would either be working on a case or looking after Scarlett and I guess we just grew apart. We soon broke up and decided what would happen with her and all was well. However, now she's gone, just as we both decided, I look after Scarlett. Which isn't so bad, I've grown rather attached to her." John chuckled at that. "What?" asked Sherlock.

"'Rather attached' is a bit of an understatement. You were a completely different man when you were looking after her before."

"I suppose, but seeing your daughter like that tends to worry you, just a bit." He replied with a sarcastic tone making John chuckle again.

"Well, everything is fine now at least. Come on, lets get to bed. You'll need the sleep." John stated, leaning in for another kiss before leading Sherlock into the bedroom for a well deserved rest.

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**Please R+R! The next chapter will be up asap :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! Thankyou so much for the reviews!**

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Scarlett woke the next morning after a not so peaceful sleep, she couldn't stop thinking about everything. Yesterday was bad. She was kidnapped and beaten up and she stupidly let the walls which she so carefully build down as she cried into her father's chest. However, it had also been okay. She had a dad, one that cared about her, one that wanted her. She felt safe with him so she wasn't scared of her kidnapper at all, which reminded her, she needed to find out who he is.

She knew that he was an enemy of Sherlock's, that factor was inevitable. But why did he hate him so much? Her thoughts were interrupted by a light knock at the door.

"Come in." She replied with a hoarse voice, expecting it to be Sherlock. To her surprise, John walked through the door.

"Hi Scarlett, could I just check your wounds? I need to know they're healing properly." Scarlett smiled and nodded. As John was checking her over, he began to speak.

"How are you feeling? Emotion wise."

"Alright." She replied.

"You seem to be taking this well." John commented.

"Not really. I was so pathetic yesterday, I will make sure that will never happen again, sorry about that." John finished checking her over and sat on the side of her bed.

"Don't be ridiculous, you had every right to act like that." John replied, sounding shocked. _This girl is really like Sherlock, except a teenage female version. That mustn't be fun in the emotions department,_ he thought to himself.

"It still felt as if I was being a burden... Also, I wanted to talk to you anyway." She added in a serious tone.

"Anything at all." John replied.

"I want you to know that I do not intend to stay here if this affects yours and my father's relationship too much. I want you to tell me now if you would be uncomfortable having me around because I would get in the way or something. So please be honest, are you not okay with me being here?" John opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish, thinking of something to say.

"Scarlett, I'm perfectly happy to have you here. I promised Sherlock to help look after you and I will not fail him. Anyway, Sherlock would certainly have something to say about it if you did leave." Scarlett laughed at this, she could also confirm that he was telling the truth.

"Thank-you, John, that means a lot to me." John smiled and hugged her before pulling away and getting up.

"There's breakfast downstairs, I'll let you get ready though." Scarlett smiled and thanked him again, when he left, she decided to go for a shower.

When the hot water hit her skin, she felt like she was in paradise. The water was warm enough to soothe her but not too warm that it hurt her bruises. It was perfect. She let out a sigh of content and after washing herself, she stayed in the shower for a bit, feeling the water run down her body as she was stood there in a trance of tranquillity.

When she got out fully dressed, she went to join John and Sherlock for breakfast. She sat down and was given a plate of sausage and eggs by a lovely lady who she found to be called Mrs Hudson.

"Wow, this is so kind, thank-you Mrs Hudson." She said, smiling at the landlady. John snorted and all turned to look at him.

"She's certainly more polite than Sherlock, that's one difference." He giggled, earning him a playful hit on the arm from Sherlock. Scarlett and Mrs Hudson couldn't suppress their laughter after this. Sherlock turned to Scarlett, his expression changing to one of concern.

"How are you feeling?" He asked her.

"Fine, although I do have questions." Sherlock sighed and nodded.

"I thought as much, what's your first?"

"Who was my kidnapper? He seemed to be an enemy of yours."

"He's a consulting criminal, the opposite to me. People go to him to get help with a crime of some sort and they pay him. He's also the most dangerous man in the world." Scarlett nodded slowly, taking this in.

"So, why does he hate you?" Sherlock smirked slightly.

"He has fun hating me, I've cracked a lot of the cases he's helped with and he seems to have met his match. So he plays 'games' with me in the hope of slowly destroying me. Unfortunately the last one involved you, but that was his mistake." Scarlett looked confused now.

"Mistake? Why would kidnapping one you hold dear be a mistake?"

"Because he's made me angrier than ever and with normal people that makes them out of control. I expect that's what he was aiming for, but that doesn't apply to me. He has made me need to beat him and that will make me sharper than ever. I will seek revenge, Scarlett, I promise." He said it with such sincerity, looking into her eyes that she knew she would be a fool not to believe him. She smiled slightly.

"Thanks, dad. Just please don't get hurt or anything." Sherlock nodded, suddenly occupied with his tea, Scarlett frowned and rested her hand on his arm on the table.

"Dad, you promise?" Sherlock looked at Scarlett, seeing a mix of fear and panic in her eyes.

"I promise to be careful." He replied. Scarlett still didn't look convinced and took her hand away, looking down.

"Its just... You're all I have left now. If I lost you..." Sherlock turned fully to face her and cupped her face to she had to look at him.

"Hey, who said I was going anywhere?" Scarlett smiled a bit and went back to her breakfast so the rest of the table resumed to their eating. When she had finished, she went up to her room swiftly, without a word. Sherlock frowned, wondering what's wrong.

"Should I go up?" He asked cautiously to John. John hesitated and nodded.

"Its probably best you do." He replied. Sherlock paused, but sighed and went upstairs to knock on her door.

"Come in." She replied. Sherlock walked in to see her sat on her bed, staring blankly at the wall. He went to sit next to her.

"Scarlett? Are you alright?" She only nodded. "Is it about what happened yesterday?" She didn't respond for a while.

"I'm so pathetic. Why did I care so much?"

"My brother, Mycroft, once told me that caring is not an advantage. But sometimes you can't help it. I've cried before, its perfectly normal." Scarlett rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but when you were a child, that doesn't count."

"No. It wasn't that long ago actually." This seemed to get her more interested.

"Really?! When?"

"Well, Moriarty had kidnapped John. He strapped him up with enough bombs to blow up a house, I was terribly worried, when we got home I admit that I cried a bit because I just imagined what it would have been like to lose him. However that was the night I realised how much I love him so I guess it wasn't so bad after all. You see? Even I cry, and that's saying something." Scarlett looked concerned this time and put her hand on his shoulder.

"That must have been awful for you..." Sherlock turned to her and smiled slightly.

"Its over now anyway."

"Yeah." Scarlett replied with a smile before taking her hand away and leaning on his shoulder. Sherlock didn't put an arm around her however. He knew how far was enough when it came to physical contact, although last night was an exception.

He knew that she needs to find the right person to feel comfortable around, yes he is her father but he still wouldn't be the one person to guide her slowly into more intimacy, even if it is just a hug. For him, John was that person. It takes time, of course it does but Sherlock hoped that his daughter would find someone to do the same for her. She was such a pretty and intelligent girl that he was sure of it.

For now, however, they both sat there, perfectly comfortable in an awkward looking position, both content that they had found someone exactly like them. It was a safe feeling, and Sherlock was glad that Scarlett now had someone to understand her because he knew all too well how lonely it could get.

There was that nagging feeling in the back of his mind however, reminding him that its not over yet. Moriarty is still out there and Sherlock was certain that he has more games to come. He needs to be prepared, whatever the consequences.

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**Please R+R! I'd really appriciate it!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi everyone! I am so sorry this is late, I've had the dreaded writers block. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and thankyou so much for your lovely reviews!**

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The next day, Sherlock was in a strop. He had just finished the case involving harpooning a pig and now he had nothing to do. He was currently begging John for cigarettes and when he knew John wouldn't give in, he tried it on Scarlett instead.

"Scarlett you know very well where my cigarettes are, you're almost as good as me. So tell. Me. Now." He stood over her, trying to be as intimidating as possible but Scarlett only crossed her arms and had her eyebrow raised.

"And you know very well that your scary act will never work on me. I'm afraid you'll just have to go without." She replied, completely unaffected. Sherlock cursed under his breath and jumped down onto his chair.

"The only case I have is a little girl asking about her bloody rabbit that "glowed like a fairy!" before disappearing the next day. I NEED a case John. Get me one. Now."

"I can't provide you with cases, Sherlock!" John cried out, exasperated.

"Well phone Lestrade or something!" John just rolled his eyes, shaking his head and turned his attention back to his laptop. Just as Sherlock was about to explode in rage, they heard a quick, urgent ring of the doorbell making Sherlock's face light up.

"A client!" He opened the door to see a middle aged man looking flustered and slightly panicked. Sherlock beamed, already knowing that this should be interesting.

He couldn't have been more wrong though, 5 minutes later he was watching a documentary with the man at his door in about a "giant dog". However, he was interested when the man used the word "hound" rather than dog, so he took the case.

Scarlett was alone now for a bit whilst her dad and John were away at Baskerville so she took that opportunity to focus on her school work. When she was doing an English essay, her laptop started freezing up and everything was distorted.

"Bloody useless thing..." She muttered to herself, when a video came up.

"Scarlett! Long time no see." Scarlett froze. It was... Him. "I heard you were alone. I wanted to make sure you know how things are, little girl. I'm far from done yet, so watch your step when you go out! Anyway, I'll keep this short and sweet like you, so that's it for now. See you soon!" he said in a condescending tone, the video went off, ending on Moriarty's manic smile and Scarlett sat frozen for a while, wondering what she should do. All the memories of her kidnapping came flooding back and she suddenly felt extremely uneasy.

The next few days were a mixture between alright and hell, Scarlett was too worried about seeing Moriarty if she went out yet she didn't want to admit it. Every time Mrs Hudson asked why she was staying in, she would always think of a good excuse such as work.

What should se do, though? Should she tell Sherlock? No, it would only worry him more. What about her safety though? Its not like a wooden door can stop Moriarty from getting to her. Then again, even after one meeting she knew how cunning he was, he would plan something like this. No, he wouldn't just grab her when he sees her, he knows better than that. _I'm safe. Everything's fine, stop being so paranoid, Scarlett!_ She thought to herself, _even so, I'll stay inside just to be safe._

So again, she stayed in. Mrs Hudson would keep her company every now and then, Scarlett knew that she was suspicious and she was grateful that she didn't nag her about it. Scarlett would often play her flute as well, much to Mrs Hudson's surprise. She was good as well, brilliant in fact, another thing in common with Sherlock only a different instrument.

Finally, after a long and tedious few days, John and Sherlock returned. Scarlett was doing work when they walked into the living room and whilst John sorted the luggage out, Sherlock sat with Scarlett for a bit.

"Mrs Hudson is worried about you." Scarlett's head snapped up, hoping he doesn't find out about Moriarty as she didn't want to worry him.

"I see, why is that?" She replied in the calmest tone she could manage.

"You haven't gone out at all since we left apparently." Scarlett rolled her eyes, trying to look as carefree as possible.

"She is simply over reacting. I've had work to do, that's all." Sherlock leaned forward.

"Don't treat me like Anderson, I can see right through your lies. Now tell me what happened." Scarlett sighed and nodded.

"Moriarty send me a video, it just popped up out of nowhere when I was on my laptop, he said that it isn't over yet and I should watch my step when I go out. That was it though, nothing to worry about." Sherlock composed himself, taking a deep breath.

"You seemed to worry." He spat out.

"I was just being careful, I'm fi-"

"Why didn't you tell me?!" He yelled, causing Scarlett to jump slightly. "God, you're just as thick as the rest of them! I could have come back but no, you're too independent, aren't you?! You're fifteen, Scarlett, you should learn to act it!" This time, Scarlett was angry.

"Well I'm sorry for not wanting to worry you when the case was CLEARLY going to be a difficult one. I was doing it for you, Not me. And as for the whole independence thing, I learnt to be that way since I was very young. You seem to be forgetting that I grew up in an environment where I thought I was the only one like this, you of all people should understand that. I stopped acting my age a while ago, get used to it." She replied in a controlled yet venomous way. And with that, Scarlett gathered her work up and went up to her room without a word, leaving a speechless Sherlock sat at the table.

"Sherlock." Sherlock turned to see John standing in the bedroom doorway. He turned back as John sat opposite him. "As much as I understand your worry, she does have a point. I'll go and have a word, shall I?" Sherlock sighed and put his head in his hands, nodding. Without a word, John went to check on Scarlett.

Scarlett heard two soft knocks at her door, she knew it would be John because Sherlock's are sharp and Mrs. Hudson's are usually accompanied by a "hoohoo!" which she found quite endearing.

"Come in, John." John walked in, puzzled about the fact she knew it was him, to see her sat on her bed cross-legged in the middle of reading Lord of the Flies for her English GCSE.

"How did you... Never mind. Are you alright?" He asked in his soothing doctor tone. Scarlett put her book down and gave him a half smile.

"I'm fine, thanks John. Don't worry about what happened, I guess I was just a bit stressed that's all." John sat beside Scarlett on the bed.

"You don't need to worry about the video, after what happened, it would take a lot for someone to be able to get to you even if Sherlock is in Baskerville. Just tell us next time, okay? Sherlock could always just get Mycroft to watch you, he wouldn't have had to return from the case."

"I know, it was a bit stupid of me not thinking of that so I'm sorry." John smiled at Scarlett, in a sort of fatherly way.

"It's okay, just remember that for next time." Scarlett smiled back at him and went back to her book. John stayed sat for a while, just watching her. Who was this girl to him? She was important to Sherlock, so he guessed she was important to him as well. He had grown fond of her quickly, it amused John how alike she was to Sherlock. It was starting to be as if she was their daughter, not Sherlock's. It was still early days but John knew that with time, he and Scarlett will become closer, they are already starting to.

"Uh... John?" John's thoughts were interrupted by Scarlett looking at him, confused. "Is everything alright? You've just been sitting there staring into space." John shook his head quickly and smiled.

"Sorry, got lost in my own thoughts. I'll go now, see you."

"Thank-you for being so kind, John." Scarlett said with sincerity.

"Not a problem." John replied, before going back downstairs letting Scarlett carry on reading. About ten minutes later, she heard violin music coming from downstairs, she knew it was Sherlock but there was something odd about it. That's supposed to be a duet... With a smile of realisation, she got her flute and went downstairs. The violin music had stopped.

"Why can't anyone in this flat just learn violin, or flute o-or I don't know... Why did you give up clarinet?! Its supposed to be a duet, John." John was about to reply when they heard the sound of a flute coming from the bottom of the stairs that lead up to Scarlett's room. Sherlock gave her a small smile as she approached. "The second part..." He murmured before beginning to play his violin part again with traces of a smile still in his features.

Sweet music filled the apartment, the instruments were faultless, perfectly in time with one and other. John stared at the two in awe at the beautiful sound they were producing. Mrs. Hudson joined them, sitting on the sofa and then everything was still except for the musicians and the only sound being heard was the music. When they finished, Scarlett gave Sherlock a half smile.

"Sorry about before." Sherlock smiled back before putting his violin down.

"I suppose I was a bit too strict." He admitted.

"What's this? The great Sherlock Holmes admitting he's wrong?" John said in amusement, earning a scowl from Sherlock.

"Well I think that was lovely, dears. Anyway I must dash, I'm going shopping." Mrs Hudson said with a sweet smile, everyone else in the flat said goodbye to her and went back to their own business, the tension lifted from the room.

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**Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**First of all, I am so sorry I have been so late! Work has got in the way and its been pretty hectic lately because I'm moving house. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy, I've decided to give Scarlett a friend so I really hope you all like her!**

**Warning: References to self harm, do NOT read if you find that triggering. Also, contains some strong language. **

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As usual, Scarlett was walking in the school corridors on her own, with the odd snide comment being thrown at her. She didn't pay any attention though, she would always roll her eyes and carry on walking, never stooping to their level. You see, a person like her wasn't accepted in school. Well, at first things were okay but the popular girls soon began to resent her because of envy. Scarlett was beautiful, clever, talented and confident. So everyone else turned on her and hated her even more, especially when she would deduce them, it was no secret that Scarlett wasn't much of a people person.

The usual comments to her face were things like "freak" and "swot" but the things over text were much worse. Everyday she would get texts saying things like "kill yourself", Scarlett being Scarlett however still didn't pay attention, she only laughed slightly at their puny minds and deleted the text. The fact that she had no friends didn't bother her, she thought she wouldn't need them.

Well, that's what she thought. One day a new student arrived at the school with dyed shoulder length straight dark red hair and a Doctor Who bag. She had a slightly voluptuous figure and dark brown eyes. The teacher seated her next to Scarlett in chemistry, the new girl grinned at her and sat down, introducing herself.

"Hi! I'm Christina but I hate that name so you can call me Chrissy." Scarlett looked her up and down.

"Scarlett. Have you told your parents about your depression yet or is that question too personal?" Chrissy stared at her, stunned.

"W-what are you talking about?" Scarlett simply rolled her eyes. Chrissy looked down and sighed in defeat, shaking her head in reply to Scarlett's question

"For starters, you're clearly a self harmer by the way you protectively cover your arms both by crossing them and covering them up with long sleeves. This is confirmed by the fact that your sleeve has been moved and is slightly revealing one of the scratches, which you may want to cover up by the way." Chrissy quickly looked down to her arm and puller her sleeve down and before she could say anything, Scarlett went on "Then there are your eyes, this may sound cheesy but when you smile, it never quite reaches them like it should, they seem dull without any sparkle. There's also the fact that people with depression tend to seem like the cheeriest, which your introduction proved rather well. Now you have permission to call me a freak and never speak to me again but I suggest you tell your parents or someone before you off with yourself." Scarlett replied in monotone and turned back to her work.

"That... Was..." _Here we go, "weird", "stupid", "offensive"... Which will she choose? _Thought Scarlett. "Incredible! Wow, could you teach me how to do that? You are so cool!" Scarlett froze and looked up in shock.

"I'm... What?"

"Cool! You are amazing! Gosh, you must be so popular." Scarlett laughed darkly.

"I'm afraid you're wrong. You see, people don't say that at all." Chrissy cocked her head to the side slightly.

"Really? What do they usually say?"

"Go fuck yourself." Scarlett said with a smirk, Chrissy giggled.

"Well they must be very stupid."

"So... You weren't offended?"

"Not at all! I was worried if I made a friend, I would have to tell them my life story if we became close. I don't with you though!" Chrissy replied with a grin. Scarlett gave her a small smile back, _this one seems interesting. Should I be... Nice to her? _Scarlett thought to herself. She simply shrugged it off and got on with the lesson until the bell rang for break.

"Hey, Scarlett?" Chrissy asked as Scarlett was just about to leave. Scarlett turned round as in indication to go on. "Could I sit with you at break today? It's just I have no one else really." Scarlett considered this for a while and decided to give her a chance.

"That's fine but why would you want to hang out with me?" Chrissy smiled.

"Because you're more interesting than anyone else in this place and you seem nice. Would your other friends be okay with it?" Scarlett looked down, almost ashamed if that was possible for her.

"There aren't any others. Just me." Chrissy was shocked for a bit but quickly recovered with a smile.

"Well then I definitely have to sit with you then!" Scarlett smiled back, a bigger one this time. As they walked down the corridor, Scarlett had the usual insults thrown at her. When Chrissy was about to respond, Scarlett just grabbed her arm and shook her head.

"Don't stoop to their level, there's no need. Just carry on walking." Chrissy frowned slightly, confused. However she followed Scarlett's instructions and carried on walking. When they got outside to the back of the school, there was a field that various people sat on in groups, Scarlett walked around everyone as she journeyed to the back of the field, and sat down when she reached it, leaning against a big tree.

"You get less people here; that's why I chose this spot." She explained to Chrissy who went to sit next to her.

"You know, you shouldn't put up with them, the things they say are horrible!"

"I've coped so far so I think I'm fine, really just leave it." Chrissy was about to reply but when she got a look off Scarlett she thought better of it.

"You know loads about me so what about you?" Chrissy asked after a silence.

"Not much you need to know. My mother died about a month ago. Now I live with my father and his boyfriend." Chrissy looked at her with eyes full of sympathy.

"Scarlett... I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, really. Things are pretty good at the moment, my dad and I have more in common than I did with my mum. Although you probably don't want to hear about my boring life." Chrissy just rolled her eyes.

"Don't be silly, it doesn't sound boring at all. What do your parents do?"

"My dad is a consulting detective and his boyfriend is a doctor." Chrissy stared at her in amazement.

"Wait... Is your second name Holmes?!" Scarlett frowned in confusion but nodded. "Oh. My. God. I love John Watson's blog! I read it all the time! Wow, that's amazing!" Scarlett chuckled a bit.

"I was unaware they had fans, I'm sure John would be happy to know you read his blog."

"Are you kidding? They've been in the papers and everything!" Before Scarlett could reply, the school bell rang and they got up to go to lesson. At the end of the day, Scarlett ran over to Chrissy when she spotted her.

"Hi, are you walking home?" Chrissy nodded with a smile. "Well... I was wondering if you'd like to come over to mine for a bit to work on the chemistry homework... Obviously if you don't want to its fine." Scarlett said in a rush and just as she was about to walk away in shame, Chrissy grabbed her arm and pulled her to face her again.

"I'd love to! Shall we head off then?" Scarlett was shocked at first but then smiled and nodded, leading the way. The walk there was like none other Scarlett had experienced, she gradually opened up more and more as she talked about her hobbies and work and listened to Chrissy do the same. She discovered that Chrissy loved drama and English, she wanted to go into acting and she also writes short stories as a hobby. Chrissy also listened to Scarlett's love for all three sciences but wasn't sure yet what she wanted to be. When they arrived, Scarlett asked Chrissy to wait outside the door. She walked into the living room to see John typing up his blog and Sherlock in the kitchen, doing an experiment. She walked into the kitchen and stopped at the doorway.

"Dad, I've brought a friend over, is that okay? We won't disturb you or anything." Sherlock looked up in surprise.

"A friend?"

"I know; I'm just as shocked as you are. Is that okay?" Sherlock looked down to his microscope again to hide his smile.

"Yes that's fine." Scarlett thanked him and let Chrissy in, introducing her to John first.

"John?" John looked up from his laptop. "This is Chrissy, a friend of mine. She's new to my school." John looked a bit taken aback but smiled at her.

"Hi, Chrissy, I'm John Watson, Scarlett's dad's boyfriend. That's a mouthful." Chrissy giggled and smiled back.

"Hi, John, I'm a massive fan of your blog, I really loved your recent one about Baskerville." John smiled again and thanked her, Scarlett then led her to the kitchen.

"Dad? This is Chrissy." Sherlock didn't budge. "Um… dad?"

"One second…" He murmured, still looking through his microscope. Just then they heard a call from the living room.

"Sherlock! Don't be rude!" Sherlock rolled his eyes but looked up, Scarlett stifled a laugh.

"This is Chrissy." Sherlock looked her up and down.

"Have you told your parents about your depression? Or is that too personal." He said in the same monotone way Scarlett did, Chrissy gaped at how alike the two of them were so Scarlett replied for her.

"I've already had that conversation with her dad, no she hasn't." Sherlock nodded and put on the best smile he could.

"I'm Scarlett's father but you can call me Sherlock." Chrissy smiled sweetly at him.

"I'm a massive fan of John's blog, you're life must be so exciting!" Sherlock considered this for a second.

"Sometimes, I guess." Chrissy was about to reply only to be stopped by Scarlett.

"It's best you don't go into that, my father isn't… easily impressed, let's just say that." Chrissy nodded, looking slightly confused. "So… shall we work on the homework then?"

"Yeah, sure!" Chrissy replied, snapping out of it and following Scarlett upstairs to her room. When they got there, before they started working, Chrissy decided to look around a bit. She strolled round the room, gazing at various things and stopped when she saw a picture sitting on the desk. It was a picture of Sherlock with his arm around a woman sat in a hospital bed, gazing in wonder at the child in her arms. He wasn't smiling but you could tell that the baby had won his heart over by the way he looked at it in awe.

"Is this you?" Chrissy asked, picking up the picture and pointing at the baby. Scarlett smiled fondly at it.

"Yes, and that's my mother holding me." Chrissy lightly stroked her thumb across the woman's face.

"She looks so much like you, only with blonde hair." She pointed out after a while. Scarlett only smiled and nodded before going to sit down onto the bed to get her work out of her bag. Chrissy put the picture down and looked over to her. "She's beautiful." Scarlett smiled again.

"Yes, she is. What about your parents?" Chrissy went to Join Scarlett on the bed, getting her own work out.

"My mum's a teacher in a primary school, we're quite close I guess but we don't really have much in common. I have more in common with my dad, he's a policeman, he may look tough but he's really a big old softie and we're both obsessed with Doctor Who." She said with a laugh. "You'll have to meet them sometime!"

"I'd love to." Scarlett replied. Chrissy stayed for about two hours after that and went home when they had finished their work. That night, Scarlett lay in bed and pondered what had just happened. _A friend… _She thought to herself in wonder.

"I've brought a friend over…" She whispered to no one in particular, simply repeating the words she told Sherlock. It felt better than she thought to say those words and she was secretly hoping that this new possible friendship lasts.

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**Please R+R! **


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